Commissioner Acknowledges Having Custody of Alleged Abducted Child

By: Bayero Ade

Abdulrazak Zaki, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Water Resources, has confirmed that he is in possession of the child he was accused of abducting.

According to Vanguard, in an interview on Saturday in Bauchi, Zaki explained that the child is his son, and the alleged abduction was carried out by his son with the assistance of police officers assigned to him. This incident reportedly occurred two weeks ago when the child was taken from her school.

The claim of abduction was made by Zaki’s ex-wife, Ikilima Soro, who filed a formal complaint with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. She accused Zaki of orchestrating the abduction of her child on January 20, 2025. According to her, the child’s school bus was stopped by policemen in a vehicle with concealed license plates, and the child was forcibly removed from the bus and driven away.

Zaki, however, defended his actions, asserting that both the Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, and the Commissioner of Police, Auwal Mohammed, had endorsed his decision. He explained that a Sharia court had granted him custody of the child, overriding the custody arrangement with his ex-wife, Ikilima Soro.

Despite his defense, the Bauchi State High Court has begun proceedings to hold Zaki and the Commissioner of Police accountable for violating its order. The court had previously instructed the parties involved to maintain the status quo until the Sharia Court of Appeal made a final ruling on the custody issue.

Zaki also revealed that, in defiance of the State High Court’s order, he had taken the 8-year-old child to a boarding school in Gombe State, disregarding the court’s affirmation that the child’s primary residence should be with her mother.

In reaction to the matter, human rights advocate and public interest lawyer Marshall Abubakar condemned Zaki’s actions, calling them an illegal response to the situation. He pointed out that the Terrorism Prevention Act of 2010 explicitly criminalizes the forceful seizure of individuals and the interception of transportation.

Abubakar further emphasized that the State High Court holds superior jurisdiction over the Sharia court and that its ruling should take precedence. “The State High Court’s order should be prioritized over that of the Sharia court,” he concluded.